Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 43, October 21 - 27 2024
During Epidemiological Week (Epiweek) 43, 27 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. During week 43, 1,784 specimens were collected and 1,737 were tested for influenza.
In Epiweek 43, 267 specimens tested positive for influenza virus (positivity of 15.4%), of which 119 specimens were Influenza A, and 148 specimens were Influenza B. The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 45), Influenza A (H3)
(n = 74), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 27), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 121).
SARS CoV-2
In Epiweek 43, of the 1,559 specimens processed by 22 laboratories in the African Region, a total of 85 specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (positivity of 5.5%).
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 43, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has tested 72,060 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, of which 3,848 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cumulative positivity rate 5.3%).